With Ron DeSantis’ presidential campaign fizzling out a lot earlier than he’d hoped, Florida’s governor is now back to tending to the business of the Sunshine State, where he’s come out in favor of a casino at Miami Beach’s glamorous Fontainebleau Hotel.

The resort’s owner, Jeffrey Soffer, has long wanted to install a classy gambling facility at the iconic property, which is where Frank Sinatra hung out and the James Bond film Goldfinger was filmed. But in order to do that, Soffer, who gave $1 million to a PAC supporting DeSantis’ presidential bid, would need legislative permission to transfer a gaming permit he holds for the Big Easy Casino in Hallandale Beach to the Fontainebleau.

According to The Miami Herald, the governor’s office issued a statement this week which argued that the transfer would take a casino “out of a residential, blue-collar community” and move it “to a tourist-focused beachfront hotel.” His office added that the permit transfer would convert “many acres of former dog track and gambling venues into needed housing and beautification for Broward County.”

Support could set up showdown

While POLITICO noted that legislative efforts to get the permit transferred and project approved are dead this session, the Herald wrote that “the governor’s backing could signal a future casino showdown in Tallahassee, considering the bill — sponsored in the House by a Republican Miami-Dade lawmaker — has drawn fierce pushback from Miami Beach officials and residents, as well as a group of wealthy South Florida business executives.”

The news comes shortly after the opening of Soffer’s Fontainebleau Las Vegas, which has dealt with high executive turnover, sparse attendance on its gaming floor, and much-maligned nachos since debuting in December.

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